Food locker



' March 2, 1948. H. E. WHEELER Er AL 2,437,215

Foon LocKER f Filed Feb. 2s, 1945 2 sheets-sheet 1 March '2, 1948.

H. Ef WHEELER ETAL FOOD HOOKER Filed Feb. 26, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I IIII; y I

i Z 7 MMM/Ms Patented Mar. 2, 1948 FFIIfCE Haro'ldEJWheelen Chicago, and David A.

Terborg, DeslPlaines, Ill.

ApllicaiflnnFebrru'aljy 26, 1945, Seral'N0."579854 'This invention relates t'oa vf'footiloc'ker in general and :particlarlytofa freezer cabinet .of `.the locker type 'wherebylow temperatureseremaintained, More specifically, vthe invention relates to alow temperature freezer embodying "a plurality of adlacently "located 'superimposed 'conltainers .for food .stus 'which are .adapted 4to'loe maintainedinrozencondition.

.Certain commercial .10W vtemperature freezer or storage. cabinets .are now.on.the market but some `ments only-:throughlaroom which is .maintained at -:ani exceedinglyilowtemperature thereby .making it inconvenient and undesirable for theper- :son -frequenting :the cabinet because of the,- great Vvariationfin temperaturefromfnormal room tern- ;p'erature to the 10W .ffreezing .temperatureimain- :tained-inside the cabinet.

:Another type of-.commercial 2food rstorage ...cab- :inetv arrangement iconsistsin having aldoor; leadfing :from a :room vor :other ffspace. maintained .-at room :temperatur-.ewvherebyfaccess 'maybehad to thefoorlziocker mthoutenteringfan.-extremelyicold room. '.ihis datter :of ifoiod .v locker has the fcompartme'nts arranged jin .tiers, ='.there Abeing,r mechanical .equipment to ishift 'the lselected 'tier in .position to the :access fdoor. .This latter ttype of arrangement requiressajilargefamount 'of'.space Landfconsiderable equipment-fior -shifting a con- 'tainer to the access door.

` The Apresent invention fovercomes '.theinherent disadvantages to both I'the above types :of food storage cabinets of the'lower -freezer'type and rat 1the same timemaintains theadvantage afmaking lit unnecessary r'for I the -user to enter a room ofgextremelyflowftemperature.

EAn important #object of ithe jpresent 'invention A*is-the provision "of aifoodlocker ofthe multiple ,container type whereby a,p1ura1ity of banks of adjacent superposed containers `or lockers may be .arranged in a '-wall "of `the cabinet, access beinghad to'a locker `of"a'baifrlrbymeansof'a door leadingirom a room .or other 'spacermaintained at. room-'temperature directlytoltliestorage' lockers or containers, andv at'the'jsame'itimepreventingtlie containers, "doors Londrawers 'from :becom- -mgfiziostedto.suohianLextentastoiprevent,proper operationof .the containers, doors .ordrawers 'or 'the locking mechanism therefor.

Aifurthereobjectzofthe invention is 'the provision-of-a-.foodlockercomprising an outer sealed cabinet having airtight access doors for access to a bank o'f food s'torragelockers, the bank of -lockersbeing so positionedvthat arzat-fanf-exceedingly low temperature will be'circulated about the bank, thebank .bemgspacedrom the front of the Gabinetto provide'anaircirculation space so thatfcold air Will be blownacross theirontl of n.the bankof'containerstoipreveritfrost ffrom ac,-

cumulating, 'and rior causing any :frost which may accumulate to be flater dissipated A still lfurther .Sobect .offthe invention vis the provision of a rfoodflockerqembodying an outer cabinet in 'which 4'ft'herera1'-e arranged in spaced relationshipf a '.phxralfty of .Horan-ks .of ffood lockers or containersgthere '.beingaaccessfdoors arranged :inthe Wall of thefcabinettopermitaccess to each bank, the "banks -beinguso arranged as kto -permit -a ovv fof `cold nair to :be fcirculated continuously of .these f1-@azen allowwa-Gcess to the yMmmm? f i about the -bankspthe:meansfor icoolingand cir- -cu'lating the fair :being rm'ounted on .-a removable door whereby :the fdoor and lits #mechanism 1 may .be "removed Tin @its :entirety `for :the :purposes of ymakingrepairs fandfadjustments thereto or Afor fdefrosting :the :'m'echanism, `the xopening being closed 7temporarily l:by ra :removable door or closure.

stillanothernobiect..ofzthe inventionistheprovisionfof' a Jfood-#storage .locker comprising .a yplu- 1ralitycf -banksior `containers of locking members `suitably :arranged in a i :predetermined `vrelationv'ship soas'toeflect eonveniencedzo conserveqspace,

:and rto -provide fior ,proper land -eicient --cooling yat lowtemperature.

Numerous other objects and advantages .will be .apparent throughoutthe progress of the followingspecification.

The accompanying drawings `illustra-te .a fselected= embodiment:E ofthe inventionV and-the .views therein are -asfollowsz Fig. .'1 :is ra :detail perspective .vview of a ,food

,locker and embodying-the inventioncertain .parts A'being broken avvayrforfthersake. ,of clearness;

Fig, -2 issa. vdetail horizontal.. planssectional l-vevv yofthelockershownmitigare 1; l

cabinetrmayfbe.maintained.

lFig. 3- isl a detailfplanfsection ofeamodied. form fof storage bank lockerspacing Fig. 4 is ra. detail perspective view showing v.an

end-of the locker having afd'oorupon .Whichfthe `refrigeration:-'mechanism is.-.mounted; f and Fig. :5 iis a detailfperspecti-ve-view vof .an `end *plug "for closing --the -opening when `the .door

carrying the refrigerating mechanism is removed or vdisplaced-iso that :,thetemperature Within the The particular foodslocker hereinshownfor the "purpose: of illustrating:thejnvention comprisesra cabinet-body I havingiansinsu-latedbottoml an an'insulated itopfi). :Insulated `front and Vrear -Walls f4 vandf5*are.farrariged betweentheebottom Ian'd top -Wallsf2 ani- 3 eas clearlyfshown in fFig. r1. vEnd walls 6 and f1 also :suitably :insulated com- `'plete .the cabinet @structure fl. 'The front rWall-4 is provided wthfa pluralityfofspaced apart-access doorsz'8 Tso'that access mayffbehad-toa bank 9 of lockers "or compartments `farranged within Athe body ofthe 'cabinet I.

Each bank #9, 1 :fand y2, A:are spaced Vrapart `to 'provider-an airifspacef'tnerebetween. Also, the

bottom of each bank is raised from its insulated base 2 and the top of each bank is set a predetermined distance below the top, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, whereby air may pass completely about the banks.

The front side or surface I of each bank is space-d inwardly of the inside edge Il of the front wall 4 to provide la sufcient space for the circulation of a draft of air across the front end of each bank.

It has been found in actual practice that by setting the front wall l0 of each bank a slight distance rearwardly so as to provide a slight space I2 between the inside edge II of the wall 4 and the front wall I0 of each bank, there will be suf- Vficient air circulating across the front of the banks to dissipate any condensation of frost which may be deposited on the front of the banks.

One wall of the cabinet I, the wall 1 shown in Figs. 1 to 4, is provided with lan opening which is normally closed by a swinging door I3. This swinging door has mounted thereon refrigerating mechanism I4 including an evaporator, blower, air inlet, and other apparatus and equipment for cooling air to a very low temperature and blowing it within the interior of the cabinet.

The door I3 is so constructed that it may either be moved on its supporting hinges, or it may be removed entirely, for the purpose of making repairs and adiustments Yand for defrosting the evaporator.v During the time repairs are made or the evaporator is being 'defrosted the opening, which is normally closed by the door I3, may be closed by a Solid ller plug-like member or door I5` Fig. 5, whereupon the cold air within the cabinet is prevented from raising in temperature during the time repairsor defrosting operations are made.

The arrangement of banks 9, shown in Fig. 3, consists in two banks arranged -with their backs adjacent each other in 4a manner to provide a space between the back of each pair and also with the necessary spaces between the banks and the enclosing walls, including the top and bottom, so that air may circulate freely about each bank. 'The banks 9, shown in Fig.'3, are also spaced a predetermined distance away from the front wall so as to provide an air space I2 to carry on condensation. Each bank 9 may comprise a plurality of containers I6. These containers may be box-like structures closed by individual doors I1 having key controlled locks I8. If desired, the compartments IB may comprise sliding drawers or each compartment may contain a container or receptacle in which the substance to be frozen is stored.

The invention provides a Afood storage locker construction including a very compact arrangement and having a completely insulated cabinet in which banks of compartments or 'lockers are j arranged. Each bank is spacedV a sufcient distance from each other and from adjoining walls so as to permit air to circulate freely about the banks. Also, the provision of spacing each bank a predetermined distance inwardly from the inside face of the front wall, prevents undue frosting, and such frost as may accumulate on the face of each bank is quickly and easily dissipated. The arrangement of mounting the refrigerating mechanism onta door which may be swung out of theway or entirely removed, permits repairs to be made and the evaporator to be deirosted without materially effecting in any way the tempera- 4 ture inside of the cabinet. ment is such that any person desiring access to a single locker of a bank may do so while remaining in room temperature without the necessity of entering an extremely cold room.

With this improved construction, the condensing equipment is located outside of the cabinet and in proximity thereto, with suitable flexible connections leading thereto from the apparatus on the door. The condenser and connections are of the conventional construction and type and are not shown.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacricing `any of the advantages thereof, and the right is hereby reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed las follows:

1. A food storage locker embodying a cabinet having an opening in a wall thereof, a closure for said opening, a food locker in said cabinet having its front face spaced a predetermined distance from the cabinet wall at the opening, said locker having its other f aces spaced from the other walls of the cabinet, and means for circulating cold air through said spaces and across the face of the locker.

2. A food storage locker comprising a cabinet having an opening in a wall thereof, a closure for said opening to close the same, a food locker in said cabinet having its front face spaced a slight distance from the `cabinet wall at the opening, said locker having its other faces spaced from the other walls of the cabinet, a second opening in a wall of said cabinet, a second closure for said second opening, and refrigerating means mounted on said second door and extending into the cabinet whereby the last named means may be removed from the interior of the cabinet to a Yposition exterior thereof 'by shifting the second door from closed position.

3. A food storage locker embodying a cabinet having an opening in a wall thereof, a closure for said opening to close the same, and a bank of su.- perposed containers arranged inside of the cabinet in spaced relation with the proximate enclosing walls thereof to provide an air space completely about the containers, the space between an enclosing cabinet wall and one face of a bank being less Vthan the spaces between the other cabinet walls and the other faces of the bank.

4. A food storage .locker embodying a cabinet having an opening therein, means to circulate cold air inside of the cabinet, a bank of lockers arranged therein and adjacent the opening, the front face of the bank being spaced a predetermined distance from an inner face of a wall of the cabinet to provide a space between the front face ofthe bank and the adjacent cabinet wall whereby cold air may be circulated across the said front face of the lockers, :and a door for closing the opening.

HAROLD E. WHEELER. DAVID A. FORBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Also, the arrange- 

